


Time Jump

by Daretodream66



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Captain America Bucky Barnes, Captain America Sam Wilson, It's 2033, James "Bucky" Barnes and Sam Wilson friendship, James "Bucky" Barnes and Wanda friendship, M/M, Rescue Pepper Potts, Team as Family, giant teddy bears, time jumps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-10 04:20:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20521832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daretodream66/pseuds/Daretodream66
Summary: Captain America Sam Wilson is injured and Bucky carries the shield, leading the team on a mission.  When something happens in the quantum realm.





	Time Jump

“Cap? We got a situation here.” Sam can hear the fighting on the other end of the com and he really doesn’t want to interrupt or distract, but this isn’t anything any of them were prepared for.

There’s a blast then a tired voice. “I’m kinda busy here, Sam. If you want me to come in, you’re going to have to explain that to the twelve foot, rabid koalas.”

Sam can’t help the snort. This is a serious situation, but the mental picture his friend paints is hilarious. He looks up at the person behind him. “Trust me, this is bigger than teddy bears foaming at the mouth.”

Bucky taps his earwig. “Wanda, do you have this?”

There’s a feral scream and suddenly the big, fluffy, angry bears freeze in mid-attack. “I’ve never wanted to harm an innocent creature, but can I just explode these things?”

Bucky barks a laugh and almost agrees, but Rescue cuts in. “Can you just get them to the containment area until we can figure out what the hell this is about?”

That’s a better plan. “You heard the boss, Wanda. Containment it is.”

“I’m not the boss, Captain America gets that title. I’m just the voice of reason.” Bucky laughs again.

“I think that sounds like the bosses job to me.” That causes Rescue to bark a laugh.

“When has any Captain America ever been the voice of reason?” He bellows at the insult and can imagine Sam doing the same.

Scott jumps in. “Every Cap I’ve ever worked with has always gotten me in more trouble.”

“Well that definitely sounds like our current Cap.” Hope can’t let everyone else have the fun.

“All of you need to show some respect. And also remember that I’m only carrying the shield until Wilson is on his feet again.” There are muffled and not so muffled comments about how that’s a good thing and thank god. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

They return to base and to the serious face of Sam waiting in his wheelchair at the base of the ramp. Morgan comes running up, checking the Rescue suit. “You didn’t damage anything did you?”

Pepper leans in, kissing her daughter. “Thanks for being worried about me.”

Morgan rolls her eyes and Pepper sees Tony so clearly in the act. “Of course you didn’t get hurt. I was monitoring you the whole time. Now, did you damage my suit?”

“Last time I checked, I was wearing it, making it my suit.” Morgan all but stamps her foot. “And no, there’s no damage. Your dad would be really proud of what you built.”

Morgan hugs her mother. “Thanks.”

Bucky comes striding off wearing his stealth suit with Wanda leaning into his side, his arm thrown over her shoulder. “You scream like that again in battle and I’m just going to expect things to start exploding around me.”

“They were frustrating. And cute. Making them more frustrating.” Bucky laughs, kissing her temple and going to Sam.

“What is this all about, Sam?” Bucky’s tired and would really like to shower and sleep and maybe eat…yeah definitely eat.

Sam shakes his head, but it’s not the annoyed shake, it’s the shit just hit the fan shake. “I don’t even know where to start.” 

“Try at the beginning.” Bucky heads to the shower room expecting Sam to follow, but his friend grabs his arm to stop him. “Sam?”

“I’m going to give you the short version.” Bucky nods and turns to fully face his friend. “Bruce was messing around with the quantum accelerator after all that multi-verse crap and came across a beacon.” Bucky shrugs and looks at Sam confused. “Okay, so when anyone goes into the quantum realm, the GPS has a beacon on it. So if anything happens, we can zero in on them and pull them out.”

“Sam…what the hell man. Get to the point. No one has used that thing since…”

Sam sighs. “Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. His GPS had a beacon on it and it was going off. We didn’t know because we weren’t looking. We all just assumed that he did what you said and went back to be with her.” 

It all hits Bucky at once. “Oh god…”

“Before you panic, remember that time works differently in there. To him it hasn’t been ten years.” Sam sees his friend start to collapse, but can’t get out of the chair to help.

The figure that’s been hiding near the lift runs forward, catching the falling Captain America. “Buck? Come on pal, stay with me.”

Bucky doesn’t know how he got to his quarters, but he comes to lying on his sofa, still in uniform with the voice of Sam and a voice he didn’t think he’d ever heard again arguing about what to do next. Sitting up, the conversation stops and two sets of eyes look back at him. Sam wheels himself over. “You okay?”

Bucky’s eyes cut from Sam’s concerned ones to Steve’s worried. “Yeah…I…somebody needs to explain.”

Steve goes into the kitchen, getting a glass of water, and bringing it back. Sitting a few feet away on the sofa, he hands it over. “You could probably use that.”

Bucky’s fingers brush Steve’s as he takes the glass. He’s really there. This isn’t some kind of dream and boy has he had those kinds of dreams. “How are you here?”

Steve reaches up, rubbing the back of his neck. Bucky can’t help the smile because it’s a move so familiar. “I waited to take the soul stone back for last. I wasn’t sure what the procedure was for that particular stone and didn’t want to deal with it until everything else was done.”

Sam’s heard all of this so he goes to the kitchen and Bucky can hear him quietly talking to EDITH. “That’s all fine and good Steve, but it doesn’t answer the question!”

“I’m getting to that.” Bucky takes another drink, sitting the glass on the table. He nods for Steve to continue. “When Clint and Nat went to get the soul stone, Clint didn’t know who the keeper was.” Bucky looks up, eyebrows up. “It was Red Skull.”

If Bucky had been drinking the water, he’d have spit it across the room. “What?!”

“Yeah, and I kinda got…” Steve ducks his head.

“You did what you always do and attack first and ask questions later.” Steve nods. “Well, how did that leave you stranded in the quantum realm?”

“In my defense, I tried to talk to him about getting Nat back. I figured that if I was returning the stone that maybe…you know.” Bucky nods and waves his hand for Steve to finish. “He kept saying that it wasn’t possible even with the return, but…”

“But you thought he was just being an ass.” Steve’s head bobs up and down.

“So, we had a little skirmish and I was thrown into the quantum realm without the rest of the particles that were supposed to bring me back. Lucky for me, time does work different there.” He looks back at the kitchen where Sam is looking at them, haunted. “When I got here and Sam told me it’s 2033, I…” He looks back at Bucky. “You really thought I abandoned you? That I went back to be with Peggy?”

Bucky gets up, walking over to the window. “Well, what was I supposed to think, Steve? You missed your 5 second window. The logical thing was to think you left.”

Steve stands, but doesn’t go to his friend. “I told you it was going to be okay.”

Bucky turns on him. “At no point did you say you would be right back or you’d see me soon. You said, ‘It will be okay.’”

Sam can see this is going south for Bucky and he’s damn well going to protect his best friend. “Maybe we should let you get showered and comfortable. I had EDITH order you some food. It should be here by the time you get out of the shower.” Bucky nods and heads into his bedroom, shutting the door a little harder than strictly necessary. Sam looks at Steve. Ten years and the man doesn’t look any older than he did that day. “You’re going to have to give him time. This is a shock for us and everyone else is going to be equally as shocked. You have to understand,” Steve looks over at him finally and not at the closed door. “He grieved for you like you died. It was months before he could really function properly. It took a lot of work on my part and with the help of Wanda, it all got better.”

Something about that makes Steve tense. “Oh…I didn’t realize.” Sam looks confused. “He and Wanda are…”

Sam chuckles and shakes his head. “No, not like that. He told me once that she reminds him of Rebecca.”

That’s a name that Steve hasn’t heard in a long time. “He remembers her?”

Sam smiles, nodding. “He remembers everything. It’s taken time, but everything finally came back. He’s worked really hard to be someone that he can stand to see in the mirror and Wanda was a big part of that.”

Steve leaves him for the rest of the night. Sam takes him to the common floor and everyone is surprised, some cry, there are many hugs and questions, but it’s good. Bucky doesn’t come out of his apartment. He sits, staring out the window and trying to put all of this in its own place. His life has been compartmentalized in recent years. Everything has a nice, neat box that he puts it in within his brain. The Steve box, well that box stays secured in the back of his mind because if he brings it out, things happen.

That night, when he crawls in bed, one of those things happens. He wakes screaming. His bedroom door flies open and Wanda comes in, ignoring the warning signs, and crawls into the bed with him. Bucky clings to her, sobbing. “It has been many years since this has happened. What was it?”

“S-same as be-before.” She doesn’t leave him that night and he’s able to sleep. When he wakes in the morning, he feels every bit like he’s been hit by a truck.

Wanda comes in with coffee. “You do not look well.”

He takes the offered cup. “I don’t feel well either.”

“You need to tell him.”

He closes his eyes, letting that wash over him. “What good would it do?”

She turns in the bed, facing him. “Who the hell cares what good it does? It would release it from your mind and let it rest.”

He comes out of his apartment later that afternoon and goes to the roof. He’s glad they made the decision to move the Avengers back into New York. Stark Industries bought a new building, redesigned it, and in they moved. Unlike before, Pepper made sure that it felt like a home, right down to the garden on the roof. Peter and Morgan sit next to the pool, watching him and wondering what all this will mean. Bucky knows they’re watching. “You know, you two aren’t very good spies.”

They both laugh. At 26, Peter is working in the lab most of the time, but also keeps doing his friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man thing and Morgan, at 15, designs most of their suits and equipment. She is her father’s daughter. “We weren’t trying to be stealthy.” There’s a chuckle from the acting Captain America. Morgan comes over and hugs him. “Are you okay?”

It’s not that anyone other than Wilson and Wanda, know the truth. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s just not something I thought I would deal with. He was gone and that was that.”

Peter gets up, squeezing his bicep. “But he’s not now and you have an opportunity again.”

Bucky’s head shoots up. “You knew?”

They both laugh. “Of course we knew. We might have been young when he left, but we saw what it did to you. Man, don’t waste this chance.”

“If there is a chance. That’s kinda the problem.” Morgan hugs him again. He loves these kids like his own family.

“Don’t be dumb. Just try.” They leave him there and he goes to sit in the garden. Looking around at the flowers and plants, he smiles. They’ve made a family here and it’s a good life. He doesn’t think, sometimes, that he deserves this, but he’s grateful every day for everything he has now.

A throat clears and he looks up into that face. “Mind if I join you?”

Bucky chuckles. “When have you ever been polite enough to ask when I was involved?”

Steve chuckles too and comes to sit next to him on the grass. “True, but you’ve been through a lot since I Ieft.” He hangs his head. “It’s still weird that it’s been ten years. For me it was only about ten hours.”

“I’m sorry you were stuck for that long.”

Steve huffs. “You have nothing to apologize for, but I do.” Bucky starts to argue. “No, don’t. Just let me say this.” Bucky nods. “When I left that day, I’m not going to tell you that I didn’t think about going back, but something happened when I was taking the stone back to 1970.” Steve swallows hard. “I saw her again, but this time, I saw him too. His name was Daniel and the way he looked at her. Hell Buck, I never looked at her that way. And she looked at him the same. How could I do anything to mess that up? She moved on and into a life that blessed her with a love that I thought I understood.” 

“She would have looked at you that way too if given the chance.” Bucky really doesn’t want to be having this conversation. 

“It just made me realize that I’d only looked at one person that way in my whole life.” Steve’s hand snakes over towards Bucky’s. Bucky watches as Steve links his pinky with Bucky’s. “I just didn’t know that it was okay that I felt that way about him.”

Bucky continues staring at their linked finger then up into blue eyes, so hopeful. “Steve?”

“I was so scared when I got back and found out it had been ten years. I figured you’d have moved on, maybe had a special someone. That my chance would have been gone.” Steve blushes.

“It’s not. Your chance would never have been gone.” Steve leans in, cupping Bucky’s cheek, caressing with his thumb.

“I never meant to leave you.”

“You came back. That’s all that matters.”


End file.
